Alvin Corum (L) and John Gresham (R)
Dr. Alvis Corum was a longtime
tenured faculty member and the Dean of Learning Resources at Appalachian State
University when he learned of a plan to relocate and split up the Appalachian
Collection, a seminal collection of books, reports, music, and artifacts of the
historic culture of the Southern Appalachian Region. When he protested, Dr. Corum was removed from his deanship
and stripped of his administrative duties. Dr. Corum and his attorney John Gresham brought a successful free speech claim that resulted in a landmark civil rights ruling recognizing the right to bring claims directly under the North Carolina constitution.
The Center hosted Dr. Corum and Mr. Gresham for a "Race and the Law" event, where the spoke about the history of the case. Continue reading for a video of the talk.
Read More... (Al Corum, John Gresham speak on historic Free Speech claim against Appalachian State)
Posted by Mark Dorosin on Fri. January 4, 2013 9:59 AM
Categories: Community Leaders, First Amendment, Race and the Law Series
Education advocates gather in Halifax, NC to mark the one-year anniversary of the Center's report and the county's renewed struggle for education equity
This summer marked the one-year anniversary of the UNC
Center for Civil Rights’ report, “Unless Our Children Begin to Learn Together: The State of Education in Halifax County.” To commemorate this milestone, education advocates in the community held
a press conference at the Old Halifax County Courthouse, where the report was
first presented, to review what had been accomplished in the year and the
challenges that remain to bring high-quality, equitable education to Halifax
County.
At the press conference, CEES Vice President Gary
Grant, speaking on behalf of the Coalition, called upon county and
school
elected officials, parents, teachers, and students to continue the
struggle for
equity: “We bear witness to the fact
that the problems of poor and barely mediocre student performance at the
three
public school systems has not been addressed. Nor has the root cause,
the continuing extreme racial segregation among the three school
districts in
Halifax County. The quality of education
has been undermined on a county-wide basis for much too long at too
great a
cost to too many of our children.”
Read More... (Halifax advocates mark anniversary of Center's report, continue struggle for education equity)
Posted by Taiyyaba A. Qureshi on Mon. September 17, 2012 4:17 PM
Categories: Community Leaders, Education, Halifax County, Leandro, Race Discrimination, Segregation
Ms. Florine Bell outside an abandoned home on Branch Avenue in Lincoln Heights, NC
UNC Law
students spent their Spring Break on the Wills Project, providing free wills,
powers of attorney, and living wills for low-wealth clients in Halifax, Lenoir,
Pitt, Avery and Watauga counties. The biannual Wills Project is sponsored
by the UNC Pro
Bono Program, Legal Aid, and the
UNC Center for Civil Rights. Before meeting
their first clients, students on the Eastern NC team were led on a walking tour
of Lincoln Heights, and excluded community in Halifax County, by community
advocate Ms. Florine Bell. Ms. Bell has
been a minister and organizer in Lincoln Heights for several years and has
spent her life fighting for economic, legal, and social justice in Halifax
County.
Standing
outside the Lighthouse of Deliverance Church on Branch Avenue, Ms. Bell gave a
brief history of Lincoln Heights. Community Inclusion Attorney Fellow Peter Gilbert then gave an overview
of community exclusion, the layered effects of disempowerment faced by Lincoln
Heights, and the Center’s work there and in other excluded communities.
Continue reading for more pictures, student remarks, and a video of Ms. Florine Bell's introduction and Center Attorney-Fellow Peter Gilbert speaking about community exclusion.
Read More... (Community Leader Florine Bell walks students through Lincoln Heights, NC, Halifax Co. excluded community)
Posted by Mark Dorosin on Tue. April 10, 2012 3:56 PM
Categories: Annexation, Community Inclusion, Community Leaders, Education, Environmental Justice, Halifax County, Heirs' Property, Law Students, Pro Bono, Race Discrimination, Segregation